Red Noses, Full Hearts
by pandorabox82
Summary: Erin has built herself a new life with Alex after everything the Replicator tried to do to destroy her.


"You are going down, Alex!"

"Oh yeah, Erin? Who is going to take me down? You and your horrible aim?" Alex shot back as she carefully watched the broad tree that Erin was hiding behind. Not noticing any movement, she carefully knelt down and fashioned a compact snowball, and then stood up again, creeping closer and closer to where she knew Erin was hiding.

It came as a shock when a solid chunk of snow struck her back, and she whirled around to see Erin standing there, one hip cocked up as she gave her a delighted smirk. "You, my dear, are out of practice as a profiler."

"And you, my darling, are sneaky like a fox! When did you move from the tree?"

"When you were making that perfect snowball still in your hands. You were so intent on rounding it so nicely, that I was able to tiptoe around the back of you. And your nose has now turned a bright shade of red, do you need me to warm it up for you? Or are you not ready for this snowball fight to end? I mean, if you concede now, I am officially the winner."

The teasing tone in her voice caused Alex to chuckle, and she shook her head as she leaned in and kissed Erin gently. As she distracted her lover, Alex pulled the neckline of Erin's sweater away from her body and shoved her snowball down her back. Erin stiffened in shock, pulling away from Alex to glare at her. "I may have conceded, but I still had to use that perfect ball."

"Just for that, you can bring in all the wood for our fireplace, darling," she drawled out as she shook out her sweater and then turned on her heel and stalked into the house. The sound of the door locking was quite loud to Alex's ears, and she knew that Erin was more than a little upset with her prank.

Sighing, she shook off the excess snow that clung to her coat, and then tramped over to the woodpile, picking out the right amount of logs and twigs that they would need for that evening before heading over to the garage and let herself in the house with the spare key, knowing that Erin wouldn't have thought to lock that door.

Listening carefully, Alex picked her way to the living room and settled the load of wood into the basket on the mantle before starting the fire with some kindling. Once a nice, warm, blaze was going there, she stood back up and peeled off her coat before toeing off her boots and leaving them in front of the fire to dry out as she ambled over to the sofa and plopping down on it, wondering what Erin was up to. "Erin?" she called out, hoping that her lover would answer her call.

Still, silence seemed to reign in the house, and she finally became tired of waiting, and got up off the sofa and began to pad through the downstairs of her house, looking for her lover. There seemed to be noises coming from the dining room, and she peeked her head inside to see Erin there, almost angrily decorating her gingerbread house, and Alex chuckled lightly as she went over to her side and pressed a tender kiss to her cheek. "Did you bring in the firewood?"

"Yes, darling. Now, why are you so upset with me?"

Erin's frown turned sad as she paused her movements, setting the gumdrop she'd been about to place on the roof aside. "I haven't been able to regulate my body temperature well, since everything happened. It's not something that I like to advertise, so you wouldn't inherently know, but I was still so angry that you would make me cold. Which is stupid, because I am the idiot that doesn't share what's going on. I just wish…"

Erin's words broke off in a harsh sob, and Alex knelt down as she threw her arms around Erin, holding her close as she murmured sounds of love in her ear. "We cannot go back and change our pasts, Erin. All we can do is make amends for past hurts and move forward as we put the jagged pieces of what we broke back together."

Erin nodded a little as she snuggled in closer to Alex, a deep sigh tearing from her lips as she started to worry a piece of Alex's sweater between her fingers. From experience, Alex knew that was a self-soothing behavior, and she drew in a deep breath before kissing the crown of Erin's head. "It's not fair that you are a linguist, you know."

"Oh?"

"Yes. You know how to play with language in a way that I could only ever try to mimic. I never got it quite right, and that's why I always loved reading your reports. Because I could see everything as you wrote it down." Pulling away a little, she looked into Alex's eyes, and she could read such love and sorrow in Erin's gaze that she couldn't stop herself from leaning in and kissing her gently. "But I think that I might have some pretty words for you."

"And those would be?" Alex asked as she took hold of Erin's wrist, running her thumb back and forth over the horrid scar there. They both hated being reminded of that event that had almost separated them forever, but Erin was starting to allow Alex to touch it more and more frequently, as if that was reassuring her of the permanence of their relationship.

"When I'm with you, my heart is full. Full of love, full of light, full of life. There were choices that I had to make, in the last year that I was with the FBI, that I regret, but the one thing I do not regret is holding out the olive branch to you. Because we were able to develop this between us. If you had rejected me when I left WitSec, I think my heart would have broken into too many pieces to ever knit back together. You've made me whole, Alexandra." Erin reached up and cupped her cheek as she leaned in and rested her forehead against Alex's. "You didn't complete me, darling, you've made me feel complete."

Alex nodded before kissing her lover once more. "Do you want me to help you with the gingerbread house, or do we want to curl up in front of the fire?"

"Both sound lovely, but I think that I need to warm up a little before we put the finishing touches on this masterpiece." Alex smiled and nodded as she helped Erin to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist as they stumbled into the living room. The fire was burning nicely by that time, and Erin sighed with pleasure as she stepped away from Alex and padded over to the fireplace and sunk down onto the floor, sitting as close to the fire as she could get before pillowing her head on her arms and resting on the mantle.

Alex pulled out her phone and took a quick picture of Erin before drifting over to Erin's side and settling down next to her, massaging her back a little before her lover groaned and leaned back against her. Alex chuckled a little as she hooked her chin over Erin's shoulder, letting her hands run down Erin's arms and then over her stomach, holding her close as they listened to the fireplace crackle and pop. There was a peace to this moment, one that had been long fought for with them, and Alex slowly turned her head to kiss Erin's cheek softly before nuzzling her nose against the silky skin of her cheek. "I love you," she breathed out, and Erin nodded a little as she covered Alex's hands with her own.

"I love you, too. I wish that things had been easier between us, all those years ago, you know."

"I do. But I don't think that we would be the people we are today, if things had worked out back then. We both needed to grow and become who we were meant to be, and come back to each other in this place." Erin nodded a bit before turning her body so that she was looking into Alex's face. Erin reached up and cupped Alex's cheek, running her thumb back and forth along the bone as she cried a little. "Why the tears, darling?"

"Because my heart feels so full. So full." Alex nodded as she leaned in and quickly kissed Erin. "There really isn't another place that I can ever imagine myself. After everything John Curtis tried to do to us, after having to play dead for so many years, this has become my favorite tradition. Being home with you, in Boston, knowing that I could really have a second chance at second chances." They sighed in unison, and Erin scooted closer to Alex, wrapping her arms around Alex's waist as she nuzzled her nose into Alex's hair.

"Do you want to…"

"Yes. I want to curl up here with you in front of the fire. Grab the blanket on the back of the sofa and come right back to me?"

Alex nodded as she disentangled herself from Erin's embrace. As she padded to the sofa, she picked up the plate of cookies Erin had left on the coffee table, balancing it in her hand as she tossed the blanket over her shoulder and then traipsed back over to Erin, setting the plate on the hearth before settling down next to her partner, smiling as Erin cuddled up close and pulled the blanket closed around their shoulders as she pushed them back onto the floor, her fingers starting to draw patterns on Alex's stomach as she hummed under her breath. "Erin?"

"Yes, Alex?"

"I love you."

"Love you, too," Erin murmured as she yawned, rubbing her cheek against Alex's shoulder. As a stillness settled over the room, Alex could feel the exact moment Erin fell asleep on her, and she smiled as she dragged her fingers through Erin's hair, knowing that she would soon follow her into sleep.


End file.
